I closed out the hard water season this last weekend. Spent three days on Lake of the Woods. Went with ten others and fought through wind and iffy access points to get limits each day.
The Rainy River opened saturday afternoon, maybe earliest ever according to many locals. We witnessed a truck go through the ice Friday, heard everyone got out. It didn't look too good for the truck though, was hanging on by rear axle with cab under water about a half mile off shore. We found twenty-four inches of good ice at every test hole but the old roads were much worn out.
Excellent trip though. Fish were very active feeding, but were scattered. We were hitting fish at about one or two per hour. I really like the late ice, though this year was a bit more dramatic than needed.